messenger

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A person appointed to perform certain ministerial duties under bankrupt and insolvent laws, such as to take charge of the estate of the bankrupt or insolvent.

   The Messenger under the joint Commission of Bankruptcy might have seized the Whole, if they had remained in their Warehouse

2. 2
   noun

   An instant messenger program.

   The 4 primary messengers include ^([sic]) AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger, and MSN Messenger.

3. 3
   noun

   A forerunner or harbinger.

   a messenger of doom

4. 4
   verb

   To send something by messenger.

   I'll messenger over the signed documents.

5. 5
   noun

   a person who carries a message

6. 6
   noun

   One who brings messages.

7. 7
   noun

   The secretary bird.

8. 8
   noun

   The supporting member of an aerial cable (electric power or telephone or data).

Etymology

From Middle English messengere, messingere, messangere, from Old French messanger, a variant of Old French messagier (French messager), equivalent to message + -er. Doublet of messager. Displaced native Old English boda (“messenger, envoy”) and ǣrendraca (“messenger, ambassador”). For the replacement of -ager with -enger, -inger, -anger, compare passenger, harbinger, scavenger, porringer. This development may have been merely the addition of n, or it may have resulted due to contamination from other suffixes such as Middle English -ing and the rare Old French -ange, -enc, -inge, -inghe (“-ing”…